END O' THE YEAR FIVE . . .

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year? I can't think of simply one that is special enough to stand on its own, so here's my list of things for which I am particularly thankful: maintaining my significant friendships with the likes of Ha, Hooch, JKA, Soy, Mrs.G, Banana, NRL and my ever-present L.O.L.'s ... developing a singularly true friendship with C ... running (and only a very little bit walking) the Komen 5k Race for the Cure ... achieving a level of fitness and health that I've never had before ... another year at home and still loving my parents ... handling a whole bunch of "grown-up" events, foreseen and unforeseen, on my own and with my own wits.

2. What was your biggest disappointment? The only true disappointment I can think of is a pretty common one: trusting and befriending a person, only to learn that s/he is not all that s/he was cracked up to be, that s/he is not the person s/he portrayed him/herself to be, that s/he is more fallible and less trustworthy than first appeared, that s/he is more willing to turn on me at the first sign of difficulty in the friendship than I was to turn on him/her, and most frustrating of all, being completely powerless to do anything about it or to protect myself from the hurt caused by this person.

3. What do you hope the new year brings? Here's my honest list: my true love, a 2-bedroom condo, an end to living in fear, medical school admission for Cheech, easy times for my parents, better health for Gran, a healthy baby fruit for the G's, smooth sailing for NHF, and more and more adventures in travel, work, love and friendship so that I don't regress into boredom or complacency, and so I continue to learn what this living-life-and-loving-it thing is all about.

4. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? If yes, what will they be? No way! No restrictions, baby!

5. What are your plans for New Year's Eve? As discussed with Cheech, New Year's Eve is grotesquely overrated, and any grand plans never turn out to be as fantabulous as one would hope. As a result of no grand-planning in recent years, I've discovered that the best formula is relaxing in jeans and a sweater with my chill-and-groovy friends, chowing down on potluck-but-near-gourmet munchies, sipping (or gulping, whatever the case may be) ML's coquitos, playing silly games that get sillier as the night progresses, embracing my friends at midnight in appreciation of each other, then coming home to stay up chatting with my family until near-dawn ... and sipping more beverages. Hee hee! This no-fault formula will be re-enacted this year, courtesy of Chez Laboy. Looking forward to it ...